returning From The Lifestream, An FFAC fanfic
by Shadow of a Fallen Angel
Summary: A year has passed since Sephiroth was destroyed...AGAIN - - and things get interesting when two young people make their way out of the lifestream.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Ok so this story is my second FFAC fanfic

**A/N: Ok so this story is my second FFAC fanfic. I hope it goes well, as I am not sure at all what I have in mind for it. I have a basic idea though…so please bear with me. There are going to be two OC's in this one too by the way. I hope it isn't too much or anything…but the other one only plays a mild part. **

**Authoress: Me **

**Disclaimerfication: I, unfortunately, do not own the characters in FFAC. If I did…hehe…you get the idea I'm sure. Anyway. You should have all known that by now…if you didn't you're just silly. Unless this is your first fanfiction…then you are forgiven. **

To everyone who loved this world,

And knew friendly company therein:

This story is for you…

**Prologue:**

The Lifestream. That's what we call the river of life that circles our planet, giving life to the world and everything in it. The Shinra Electric Power Company discovered a way to use the Lifestream as an energy source. Because of Shinra's energy we were able to live very comfortable lives. But wasn't that because we were taking away from the planet's life? A lot of people thought so.

Shinra used their power to try and stop anybody who got in their way. Shinra had a special group of warriors called SOLDIER and all the SOLDIERs had Jenova cells put inside them. Jenova was a calamity that fell from the sky a long, long time ago, and tried to destroy the planet.

Anyway, there was one SOLDIER, Sephiroth, who was better than the rest, but when he found out about the terrible experiments that made him he began to hate Shinra. Then, over time, he began to hate everything. Sephiroth was defeated and the planet was safe, but not for long.

Two years later, Sephiroth was reborn. He manipulated his remnants to do his will through the desire he had to return. There were a lot of battles, and with each battle there was more sadness. Two more people went back to the Lifestream that day and because of their sacrifice, Sephiroth was defeated once again, making the planet safe from his wrath.

"Sadness was the price to see it end." I will never forget the day they told me that. I didn't really understand it then…but I do now.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Ok so this story is my second FFAC fanfic

Kadaj lay in Cloud's arms, to weak to do anything else.

"B-brother." Kadaj said looking up into Cloud's face. Cloud just looked at his newly accepted brother.

"Kadaj?" said a voice only he could hear. "You don't have to hold on any longer."

"Mother, is that…?" Kadaj asked in weak happiness.

"Everyone's waiting, if you're ready."

Kadaj winced as a drop of rain landed on his cheek. He let a single tear fall from his mako eyes before lifting his hand toward the air, as if he expected someone to take it. He flexed his fingers slightly as the now more heavily falling rain landed on him. Kadaj was lifted in to the air as though an invisible hand had lifted him from Cloud's arms and pulled Kadaj to it.

It started at his outstretched hand, then, his whole body dissolved into glowing blue and green particles and returned to the Lifestream. Cloud watched as his brother's body disappeared right before his eyes. He then closed his eyes and enjoyed the feel of the rain on his face.

A bullet entered Cloud's body. Cloud turned his head to see Yazoo and Loz.

"We'll go together." Yazoo said, Velvet Nightmare still raised.

"Together we'll play." Loz said.

Their bodies had a green glow around them as the rain took its toll on the Jenova cells that made up their body. Cloud got up and ran toward them, the tip of his buster sword sparking as it trailed along the ground. Loz and Yazoo each raised their left arm, which sparkled brightly with various types of materia. The shockwave of materia energy, mixed with the sparks from Cloud's sword caused an explosion which, miraculously, Loz and Yazoo survived. Cloud, however, was not so lucky.

A woman placed a hand on Cloud's head.

"Mother?" Cloud asked, eyes still closed.

"Again? Why is everyone calling me their mother lately?" Aerith asked.

"They must be fond of you." Zack replied.

"Hmm, this one's too old to adopt." Aerith mused.

"Sorry friend, looks like you don't have a place here." Zack said, this time talking to Cloud.

Cloud opened his eyes, he felt many pairs of small hands supporting him and helping him up.

"It's like she said. Wait here and Cloud will come back." Said a little girl with light brown hair tied up into pigtails.

"I'm back." Cloud said with a nod.

"There are still children with the stigma." Red XIII said.

Denzel stepped forward and Cloud held his arms out to him.

"I'm here." He said to reassure Denzel.

He lifted Denzel in to the water like a father would a son. Cloud set Denzel down and gathered some water in his cupped hands. He let the water slowly out of his hands and on to Denzel's head. The Geostigma on his forehead glowed a sparkly green before disappearing from the young boy's skin.

Denzel looked at his reflection in the water then looked to Cloud. Cloud nodded to signify the Geostigma was gone. The crowd applauded the disappearance of his ailment.

"Cloud…" Vincent made his way through the crowd as the cheering died down. He was holding the bloodied body of a seventeen year old girl that Cloud knew all to well. The girl's long blonde hair was hanging straight down and almost touching the ground, her eyelids closed over stunningly blue eyes.

Cloud made his way over to the edge of the pool of water that had accumulated since his fight with Kadaj.

"I'm sorry." Vincent said, handing the girl to Cloud.

"No…" Cloud said shaking his head. He looked back up to Vincent. "How…?" was all he had managed to say.

"She was…trapped…under a large piece of metal that fell from one of the buildings when you were fighting Sephiroth." Vincent said, choosing his words carefully. Crushed would have been a better word to explain what had happened to her, but given the circumstances it seemed highly inappropriate.

Cloud walked back to the centre of the pool in Aerith's church. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there to save you…sister." He whispered, lowering the girl into the water.

When she was fully submerged the water around them turned blue as the girl's body was taken back to the Lifestream. Cloud stepped out of the water and headed out of the church.

"Cloud…" Tifa said reaching out to touch Cloud's arm.

"I'll be at 7th Heaven." He said flatly and walked straight past her.

"Tifa, is Cloud going to be ok?" Marlene asked with tears in her eyes.

"I don't know." Tifa replied simply, embracing Marlene in a warm hug.

Kadaj opened his eyes to a blinding white light. He had to lift his arm to shield his eyes.

The scenery began to form around him. There were beautiful blue skies and the grass was a vivid, lively green. Instead of feeling awed by what it looked like in the Lifestream, Kadaj felt an intense anger welling up inside him.

"DAMN YOU SEPHIROTH!" he yelled. "How could he? He used me to return!" Kadaj said in sudden, furious realisation. He slammed balled fists hard into the ground and screamed out like he had after he had thought he had lost mother.

With his anger now subsiding, something appearing beside him caught his attention. A girl was suddenly materialising about ten meters from where he now sat. Even at this distance he could see the brilliant blue of her eyes and the blonde of her hair. His first thought was of Cloud Strife. Although she was a girl her features were quite similar.

He got up and walked away, hating why he was here. He had been manipulated by Sephiroth, and for that he would never allow himself to be forgiven.

_How could I have let myself be so used? _He thought angrily. _I can't believe mother favoured him over me. _

"Cloud!" The girl screamed. "Where are you Cloud? I want my brother!"

She searched frantically but her search yielded no results and she let herself fall to the ground.

"I don't like it here." She said moodily.

"Meh, you get used to it after a while." A familiar voice said from behind her.

"I'm dead aren't I?" She asked Zack, her brother's friend from his SOLDIER days.

Zack nodded and she got up.

"Well I guess I don't have any choice but to get used to it." She said with a sigh, walking sadly off to explore her new home.

+ one year later +

Kadaj was bored, again. He was bored more and more frequently these days. It wasn't much fun being in the Lifestream, especially because he had such a desire to return and take revenge on President Shinra for everything he had done to him. Kadaj was under the impression that Shinra knew all along what would happen if Kadaj had bonded with Jenova and he hated Shinra for that too. Kadaj did the only thing there was to do when one was this bored. Pretend to be fighting enemies. It relieved stress and boredom, so it was a winner. He pulled Souba from its sheath and began to swing it around skillfully as if the opponents really were there. He smirked at the thought of it.

The girl sat where she did almost every day. By a small pool she had found in one of the many valleys of the Lifestream. She looked in to it sadly yet intently as she watched the way the people in the plane of existence known as life were getting along without her. She watched her brother mostly. He was now happily in love with Tifa Lockheart, and she couldn't agree more. She had always felt that Cloud and Tifa had some chemistry.

The girl was formulating a plan on how to get out of here.

_Well _she thought. _If materia are powers forged in the Lifestream, and that's where I am _now_, why can't I create materia that will allow me to return to Cloud?_

She heard some movement nearby and decided to investigate. It was a sliver haired man. He looked like he was her age, but, as she reminded herself, looks could be deceiving. She had only ever seen him once before: when she had arrived here one year previously. The last she saw of him, he was letting out a loud, heart-wrenching scream like he had been grievously injured.

She decided to walk up to him.

"Bored?" She asked.

Kadaj wheeled around to find himself face to face with the girl from a year ago. She, to him, still resembled his big brother. Maybe that was why he felt he hated her so much already. Kadaj said nothing in reply.

"What are you doing?" She asked curiously.

"What does it look like?" Kadaj replied angrily, sheathing Souba and making the girl recoil at the coldness in his voice, once again he smirked in satisfaction.

"Ok, be that way." She said. Kadaj just glared at her.

"Y'know…" She said slowly "I think I can get us out of here."

"Just be quiet." Kadaj said just as coldly as before, if not colder.

"Would it kill you to be a little nicer?" She asked harshly.

"Y'know, if you weren't dead, I'd have killed you already." He said walking as far away from the annoying girl as possible.

Kadaj once more sat by himself, letting his anger and boredom get to him again. He shifted around restlessly. The only interesting thing that had happened to him since he got here was meeting that strange and annoying brat.

"_Y'know, I think I can get us out of here." _Her words echoed in his head. What if what she was suggesting was possible? What if he could actually get back?

He imagined it for a minute, just being back with his brothers again. He missed them from time to time. He shook his head. It wasn't possible to get out of the Lifestream. He was dead. He allowed himself one moment of weakness where he let a single tear roll down his cheek in contemplation of this. He chose to get up and walk around, sealing off his weaker emotions once more. He came to a small sized pool in one of the many valleys in the Lifestream. He looked in to it and backed away suddenly.

The surface of the water rippled, which was strange because there was no wind. He moved closer again and saw that the blue water, which had once reflected the sky, now held a picture of his brothers. They seemed to be arguing over something, at first Kadaj couldn't catch what they were on about. He listened more intently and then the words started to become clear.

"_If only Kadaj was still here." Yazoo said "He'd know what to do."_

"_Don't cry Yazoo." Loz said somewhat sympathetically. "I miss brother too." He sniffed. _

"_Don't cry Loz." Yazoo said comfortingly. "We'll see him again one day." _

At least he was missed. It made him fell marginally better to know they relied upon him, but at the same time he felt annoyed that they couldn't do anything without him. He was disturbed by some footsteps.

"But still…why does he have to be so mean?" A girl said. She was talking to herself. Kadaj rolled his eyes when he realised who it was.

"What are you doing here?" She asked surprised and angered. "I thought _I_ was the only one who knew about this place."

Kadaj just continued to stare into the water at his brothers.

"Are they your family?" She asked, seeing what Kadaj was looking at.

"Yeah." He replied apathetically.

"So, who are you anyway?" She asked.

"Why should I tell you?" Kadaj replied, suddenly defensive.

"We're going to be stuck at seventeen for the rest of eternity, so we may as well talk to each other."

"Fair point. I'm Kadaj." He said, giving in to the girl's demands. "And you are?"

"Aliyra Strife." She said proudly. She looked down sadly afterward. "I miss my brother."

"Cloud?" Kadaj asked. Aliyra nodded.

"I thought you looked similar to him." Kadaj said.

"You knew Cloud?" She asked shocked. Kadaj nodded, but he wasn't going to tell her the exact details of how he knew her brother.

"So, is it really possible?" Kadaj asked abruptly.

"Huh? What?" Aliyra said tearing her gaze away from the water, which had now changed to suit Aliyra's wishes.

"Can we really get out of here?"

"I'm working on it."

"How so?"

"Well, if materia is forged in the Lifestream, who's to say we can't make a materia that will take us back? Will you help me?" She asked the question with desperation.

"You miss him that much?" he said half disgusted. Aliyra just nodded.

"Ok, I'll think about it." He replied with a sigh.

+ One week later +

Kadaj stood at the edge of the lake with Aliyra. Kadaj couldn't actually believe he was helping Cloud's _sister_, especially after he had tried to dispose of Cloud himself. Aliyra passed him a small silver orb.

"I hope this works…" She said nervously.

Kadaj nodded. As they hadn't tested this before, there could be some nasty side effects.

He watched as Aliyra pressed the materia into her chest and dived headfirst into the water.

"I'm coming Cloud." She said with a hopeful happiness just before she jumped. Aliyra seemed to have managed to pull it off so Kadaj repeated Aliyra's action, though he didn't say anything before he dived headfirst into the water. It was an icy feeling and it seemed to permeate his entire body. Then there was blackness, before Kadaj hit something solid. Was he really back?

He looked around and noticed that this place seemed familiar; then he remembered it. It was the place he had seen Loz and Yazoo when he was in the Lifestream. A sudden wave of exhaustion swept over the teen and he found himself at a couch. Without any hesitation he allowed his body to fall to the couch, where he instantly fell asleep.

Aliyra felt the iciness go through her body, and then she landed on the familiar floor of 7th Heaven. No one was in the bar area but she could hear voices coming from upstairs.

"Cloud, I know you blame yourself for what happened to Aliyra, but that's no reason to shut us out either." Tifa said.

"I told you I wasn't fit to help anyone." Came Cloud's mopey reply.

"Damn it Cloud! You can't keep blaming yourself for this! This is just like Aerith all over again! It's been a year now, why can't you just forgive yourself?"

"Because if it wasn't for me, she'd still be here."

"Dilly dally shilly shally." Tifa said. Aliyra smiled. She had heard Tifa use this many times before. Aliyra still couldn't help feeling bad though; she had put her brother through much in her death.

Her hand lingered on the doorknob as she contemplated opening the door and telling Cloud it wasn't his fault, and if anyone should be blamed, it was her.

_**/Flashback/**_

"Aliyra stay somewhere safe. I have a battle to fight."

"But Cloud, you're sick!" Aliyra protested.

"I have to go Aliyra. Sephiroth is coming back, and I have to stop him."

"But-"

"I have to go."

Later Aliyra snuck out of her hiding place and followed Cloud. She wouldn't let any harm come to her older brother. She looked up as the sky went suddenly black. Then she saw him. Sephiroth. She watched the fight between the two; they fought as though they were doing some kind of deadly dance. Sephiroth slashed at the building he was standing on, causing large chunks of metal to fall. Aliyra noticed too late that one of the large pieces was heading to hit her.

She felt the searing pain as the metal crushed her body; then she went numb.

"I'm sorry Cloud." She said. Not long after that, she had woken up in the Lifestream.

_**/End Flashback/**_

"Tifa, please, I need to be alone. I just…" he sighed.

"Ok Cloud. You win this time, but it wasn't your fault."

Cloud snorted disbelievingly. Aliyra had had it at this point. It was _not _Cloud's fault and she was going to tell him so. She gripped the doorknob tightly and flung the door open, ignoring the disbelieving and shocked looks on both of the room's occupant's faces.

"Damn it Cloud! It was not your bloody fault!" She practically yelled.

"Aliyra…?" Cloud said flabbergasted.

"Yes. I've escaped from the Lifestream." She said in a proud tone. "Good thing too, so I can set this whole 'whose fault?' thing straight."

"How did you…?" Cloud began, but he was silenced by a single look from the girl.

"If it has to be anyone's fault I died Cloud, It was mine." She said tenderly. "I should have listened to you instead of running off."

She looked down at the ground before her head snapped up again suddenly. "No. Wait. Scratch that. If we're going to play the blame game here, let's blame Sephiroth shall we? After all, he was the one that sliced the building and caused the metal to crush me."

There was a moment of disbelieving silence before Aliyra ran up and threw herself at her brother. She wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug and felt him do the same.

"Oh, and Zack says hi." Aliyra said

"Huh? You saw Zack?" Cloud asked, equally, if not more surprised than before.

Aliyra just looked at her brother. "Duh. Of course I did. You don't get stuck in the Lifestream for a year without seeing people."

"Well, Cloud, she has a point." Tifa said, speaking for the first time since Aliyra had made her grand entrance.

It wasn't long before Aliyra ran to Tifa and hugged her too. Tifa laughed and patted her on the head. They must have made more noise than they thought they had been because soon Marlene and Denzel were standing in the doorway.

"Ah here are my two favourite kids." Aliyra said as the two kids walked cautiously up to her.

"It's ok." Aliyra coaxed. "I just went on a holiday is all."

The kids smiled and ran up to her too, until everyone was wrapped in a huge group hug.

"Ok, I think we should all go to sleep now." Tifa said, seeing that Aliyra had pretty much fallen asleep in Cloud's arms. The small children sighed and went off to their rooms.

Cloud took Aliyra to a spare room and lay her down on the bed.

"I'm going to protect you." He whispered placing a small kiss on the young girl's head. "I'll make sure you don't have to leave again." He watched as Aliyra smiled in her sleep and nuzzled her head into her pillow. He pulled the blanket up over her exposed shoulders and walked from the room, going back to the room he shared with Tifa.

Kadaj was woken the next morning by the sound of Loz yelling something that sounded, to Kadaj, like "ARGH! Zombie!!" Kadaj rubbed his eyes tiredly, still feeling somewhat drained.

"He may look like a zombie, but I don't think he is." Yazoo said sleepily and unhappily. He sounded like he wasn't happy about being woken up.

"But, but he died Yazoo!" Loz wailed.

It took a moment for Kadaj to register where he was.

"I'm back." He stated in quiet disbelief. The others seemed not to hear him.

Kadaj held out his hand and flexed his fingers, then placed a hand to his face. He slapped it lightly, yet hard enough for a slight stinging sensation. He smirked evilly.

"BOO!" he yelled turning to face Loz, then getting up and chasing after him, arms outstretched. Loz ran screaming from the room and Kadaj doubled over in laughter.

"Boy that felt good." He said regaining his usual sadistic and commanding composure.

"You shouldn't scare brother like that." Yazoo said with a small smile. Kadaj knew full well that Yazoo had enjoyed watching it as much as he had enjoyed doing it.

"Well, I've been stuck in the Lifestream for a year…I needed to do that." Kadaj said, the evil smirk once more gracing his features.

"How did you do it?" Yazoo asked as Loz re-entered the room.

"Well, there was this annoying girl who…" he began, his voice picking up a hint of anger at the mention of the girl, he then cut himself off, realising he never thanked her for getting him out of the Lifestream.

"Is everything okay brother?" Yazoo asked at Kadaj's sudden refusal to talk.

Kadaj nodded. "I'm fine. Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah! So she figured, materia is made in the Lifestream, so why not make materia that would allow us to return. Well, here I am." He said.

Kadaj conveniently left out that his assistant; or rather the girl he assisted was Cloud's sister. He wanted to find her though and thank her for getting him away from the boredom that was the Lifestream.

At that point in time, at 7th Heaven, Aliyra was awake and wondering if she'd ever see the silver haired person she now knew as Kadaj again. Aliyra sighed and got up, not letting the morning pass her by any further. She knew now how precious life was, and didn't intend on wasting any of it. She dressed quickly and opened the door, to be met by Cloud.

"Um, hi." She said, shocked to see her brother up so early, well, just shocked to see him at all. Then her happiness took over as she realised it wasn't just a trick of the Lifestream.

"Morning sleeping beauty." Cloud said lightly and accompanied his younger sister to the bar. It was early but she could hear the chatter of the usual crowd. She was slightly uneasy at hearing the noise. She was, after all, supposed to be dead. The last thing she needed was for someone like Vincent to be there and blow her head off thinking she's a zombie.

"It's ok. I don't think Vincent's there." Cloud said, almost as if he could read his sister's thoughts. He held out his arm which she held on to tightly.

"I don't know Cloud." She said nervously. She was used to the solitude of the Lifestream, and now, for some reason, the prospect of a large crowd scared her.

"I'm right here." Cloud said, looking down at his sister, still latched firmly to his side. "But if you really don't want to go out there it's ok."

Aliyra steadied herself. "Ok, let's go." She said her voice betraying her calm demeanour.

"You sure?" Cloud asked.

Aliyra looked at him slightly offended before she smiled broadly. "Don't patronize me doctor!" She said dramatically.

Cloud laughed and pushed open the door. Upon sight of Cloud's most recent attachment the bar fell silent.

Yuffie broke the silence by squealing. Whether it was with delight or fear Aliyra couldn't tell. She then hid behind Cloud as she spotted Vincent. It was most unlike Valentine to be in the noisy, friendly atmosphere of a bar, rather than sitting in solitude. Cloud laughed as Aliyra hid behind him earning a weird look from Vincent.

At this simple gesture of happiness, Cloud also received some weird stares. Had he really not laughed in so long?

"Move along, nothin' to see here." Came a voice from out of the quiet. "Just the dead coming to life again." The crowd turned to stare at the doorway of 7th Heaven, where a familiar person was leaning against the doorframe.

"Z-Zack?" Aliyra stuttered nervously.

"Y'know, Aerith was worried sick about you Aliyra." Zack stated calmly.

"So she sent you to take me back?" Aliyra asked a hint of an unrecognisable emotion in her voice.

"Well, not quite." Zack replied. "You know how Aerith is."

Aliyra nodded. "She saw how much happier you were now you were with Cloud she just sent me to give you a lecture." He continued coolly.

Aliyra hadn't noticed it, but tears were beginning to fall down her cheeks. Perhaps it was because she had been dead for a year.

The room was still silent, well; two people who had been dead for quite some time had just come back into the world of the living.

"Uh, hate to interrupt your little moment here," Yuffie said shakily "but is it just me or are there two DEAD PEOPLE in our presence?"

The bar erupted with laughter at her sudden interjection. "What?" She asked, seemingly not knowing what she had caused.

"Ok," Aliyra sighed "lecture away."

"All she said was she admires your courage, but she doesn't approve. Something about the consequences…Hey Tifa! Could you get us some alcohol?" Zack called the last part out to Tifa, who looked at him thunderstruck.

"I've been dead for a while now! Give a guy some booze already."

Once more the bar erupted in laughter and there were many drinks passed around. Several drinking games were played when Reno and Rude stopped in for their morning fix of the incapacitating liquid.

"Goon of Fortune!" rang out again from the bar's occupants that morning. Tifa just shook her head, they were drinking her out of bar and home. Cloud and Zack were talking animatedly, Marlene and Denzel were playing upstairs, Yuffie, Cid, Barrett, Reno and Rude were playing beer pong, Vincent was just being Vincent, sitting quietly in solitude in the corner of the bar and Tifa was standing behind the bar cleaning various glasses and occasionally stepping out from behind the bar to clean away bottles from her rowdy customers. Aliyra was missing from the mix of people; the crowds had begun to make her uncomfortable. Instead she sat in her room with the window open, letting the soft breeze caress her face. It was in these moments that her thoughts carried her away into many places. She spared a thought for that silver haired boy in the Lifestream, Kadaj. She wondered if he had made it out and found his brothers. Perhaps if she had known what Kadaj had become a year previously she wouldn't have asked for his help, but as she didn't know, she went on, blissfully unaware of his past.

At the same point in time, Kadaj was contemplating all the possible locations where Aliyra could be. His brothers weren't aware of some aspects of how he got back, and Kadaj had intended to keep it that way. He decided to start in Midgar.

"Where is brother going?" Loz asked playfully.

"Not now Loz." Kadaj snapped.

"But…" Loz began. He was silenced by a menacing look from Kadaj.

"Brother, are you leaving us again?" Yazoo asked, joining Loz in his interrogation of their younger brother.

"Fine, you can come along if you want." Kadaj said with a sigh, swinging his leg over his motorcycle, Souba still firmly attached to his back. He took off toward Midgar, his brothers trailing after him. Kadaj realised at that point, he had no idea how to thank her.

_Meh, I'll think of that when the time comes._ He thought as he rode, enjoying the familiar scenery and sound of his motorcycle. It was, Kadaj guessed, around mid-day when they took a break.

"Where are we going?" Loz whined.

"I do believe we deserve an explanation Kadaj." Yazoo said a little tiredly.

Kadaj just looked away from them. "You'll find out soon enough." He said sounding somewhat distant. Yazoo looked to Loz and shrugged his shoulders.

It was a few more hours before the three of them reached Midgar.

"Why are we here?" Loz asked.

"I have a few scores to settle." Kadaj replied bluntly. He was imagining all manner of evil things he would do to Shinra the next time he saw him…but first to sort out the girl.

"Ok, now where would I find Cloud?" he muttered to himself, unfortunately not quietly enough for his brothers not to hear him.

"Why are you looking for Cloud?" Yazoo questioned.

"He was the one that sent me to the Lifestream in the first place…remember?" Kadaj lied.

"Well, what about that bar his little girlfriend runs?" Loz asked more maturely and cruelly than Kadaj had ever seen him before.

"Hmm, yeah. That sounds like a good place to start." Kadaj mused.

With that the three men sped off in the direction of 7th Heaven.

Sighing, Aliyra decided that she had better go and rejoin the masses, and help Tifa out with her cleaning up of the bar. The voices of the now drunken bar lackeys carried up the stairs.

"Poor Tifa, having to deal with all of that…" Aliyra sighed as she descended the stairs. She opened the door to see a game of beer pong in progress and now everyone was in on the game, including the newly returned Zack, and her brother Cloud. She laughed as she saw them happily drunk. She walked over to Tifa.

"Need a hand?" Aliyra asked.

"You don't have to." Tifa said smiling.

"Meh, I'm bored, and you look like you could use some assistance." She said tilting her head toward the crowd of drunkards.

"You have a point." She said, the smile still fixed on her face. Aliyra ducked out from behind the bar to collect several empty beer bottles.

"Hey! Doll face, why don't you come and join us?" Reno slurred as Aliyra tugged the empty bottle from the hand he was swinging animatedly around.

"Uh, I don't think so Reno." She said

"Aww, why?" He asked, but instead of gracing him with an answer she walked off, shaking her head.

"Is it always like this?" She asked bemused

Tifa nodded.

The beer supply had run out and Zack was rummaging around behind the bar trying to find more grog.

"TEQUILA!" he shouted triumphantly, raising the bottle into the air.

"Zack, you're a hero!" Cloud shouted upon hearing the triumphant call of the tequila.

Aliyra shook her head embarrassed.

"I'll be back soon." Tifa stated the annoyance clearly evident in her voice.

"Where are you going?" Aliyra questioned.

"I'm going to the store, who ever heard of a bar being out of booze?"

"Ok, I'll mind the bar." Aliyra said, not that there was much to be minding.

Aliyra went out once more to collect beer bottles, and had to help pour Reno a shot of tequila, though it went against her better judgement.

At this point most of the group were singing. Vincent had left long ago.

"Duh da duh da duh –duh TEQUILA!" They sang, or more to the point, shouted.

Aliyra's head was starting to hurt from all the head shakes of disapproval. She handed Reno his tequila and had one for herself, coughing slightly as she downed it. She may have been dead for a year, but she still knew how to drink.

The door opened and three silver haired men walked inside. Aliyra turned suddenly when the noise behind her dropped. Her eyes widened as she saw that Kadaj, and who she remembered to be his brothers- Yazoo and Loz- walk in. Kadaj looked around, letting out his favourite noise.

"Tch"

"So, I see you made it out ok." She said quietly, the noise had picked up again. Loz had gone to join everyone who was drinking and Yazoo was talking to an unfamiliar blonde. Kadaj however, walked up to Aliyra. He didn't say anything; the two just stared at each other. What happened next happened so suddenly that Aliyra wasn't even sure it had actually happened. Kadaj leaned in and placed a kiss on her lips, then walked back toward the door, calling his brothers with him, leaving Aliyra to stand there like a stunned mullet. He stopped at the table near the door and picked up the tequila bottle, necking some before speaking again.

"There, I thanked you, now I can go on hating Shinra's existence with a clear conscience." With that he walked out the door, mumbling something no-one caught and leaving Aliyra in stunned silence.

Tifa re-entered the bar, not long afterward, a few seconds to be more precise. She was muttering about silver haired hoons on bikes, but stopped when she saw the look on Aliyra's face.

"What's up?" She asked

"Oh, it's nothing, don't worry Tifa." Aliyra lied…badly.

"If Reno tried to crack on to you …." She said trailing off, shaking her fist slightly.

"No, it wasn't Reno." She said with a slight laugh. "…Though he did try to get me to join their drinking earlier." She said.

"So what's up then?" She asked. Aliyra shook her head, not willing to speak, but Tifa was persistent.

"We'll go up to your room and talk about it if you like." Tifa suggested kindly. Aliyra finally gave in and allowed herself to be steered upstairs.

"Ok so what's up?" Tifa asked again, as she closed Aliyra's door behind her.

"He came back, well at least I know he's ok, but he came back here and then he just _kissed me_ and walked out." Aliyra spurted.

"Ok, back up…_who_ kissed you?"

"Oh, I guess I forgot to mention, I brought someone else back too…Kadaj he said his name was."

Tifa's jaw dropped.

"What? Did I say something wrong?" Aliyra asked.

"Did you just say Kadaj?!" Tifa said stunned.

Aliyra nodded. "He seemed nice enough, and he was really lonely. So I helped him get back to his family. Was that wrong?"

Tifa shook her head. "It wasn't I suppose, but Kadaj isn't as great as you think…you don't know who he is, do you?"

Aliyra shook her head. "The name sounded familiar, why? What did he do?"

"Maybe I should let Cloud explain, when he's sober that is…" Tifa replied.

"Heh, yeah, he's smashed like a guitar at a rock concert." Aliyra said smiling falsely. She was wondering what could have been so horrible about Kadaj.

_Well sure, he has an attitude problem…_she thought _but other than that I can't see the harm in him…_

Aliyra had strange dreams about Kadaj murdering her. She woke up to find her room still dark. She looked over to the illuminated numbers on her clock. 4:30 am.

She shook her head to get rid of the latest nightmare, still freshly imprinted in her brain. Deciding there was no way in hell she could get back to sleep she decided to go downstairs and get a glass of water.

"Everything ok Aliyra?" Cloud asked. He was holding a bottle of painkillers in his hand.

"Yes…actually…no. I need to ask you something." Aliyra said, debating with herself on whether or not this was the right move to make.

"Yeah, ask away." Cloud said a little pained. Aliyra laughed slightly at his hangover.

"What?" Cloud said.

"Your hangover is piss funny." Aliyra said.

"Yeah, to everyone but me. Anyway, you were asking…?"

"I want to know what Kadaj did." She said bluntly. "What did he do that was so horrible?"

"Kadaj? Why?" Cloud asked a little stunned that his sister would be asking about him.

"Because, I may have done something very wrong…" She said uneasily.

"Ok, I'll tell you about Kadaj." Cloud said, leading her out to sit on the barstools on the other side of the bar.

"Kadaj was a remnant of Sephiroth, hell bent on finding Jenova. He thought Jenova was his mother. He got Jenova back from Shinra and brought Sephiroth back…that was the day you…" Cloud stopped.

"The day I died." She whispered.

There was a silent moment between the two as they both remembered that day.

"What was it you did Aliyra?" Cloud asked sternly, yet kindly.

"I…Cloud I brought him back from the Lifestream with me." She said hopelessly, bowing her head.

"It's ok Aliyra; Jenova was destroyed in the process…" Cloud said placing a hand on her shoulder.

Aliyra looked up at her brother.

"But what if he tries something bad again? I'll be the one responsible for it." Aliyra said dejectedly.

"Well, I guess we'll see how that goes." Cloud said standing up. Aliyra stood up too and hugged her brother.

"What have I done?" She whispered. She had said it so quietly that Cloud hadn't heard her.

Meanwhile…

Shinra sat behind his desk. He looked up as there was a knock on his door.

"Enter." He said simply.

"Sir, Kadaj has returned from the Lifestream."

"Is that so?"

"I saw it with my own eyes." The other man replied

"Well done, bring him to me."

"Yes, sir." The other man stated. He got as far as the door before Shinra spoke.

"Oh and Reno, don't make me wait."

With that, Reno walked out of said blonde president's office and went to find Rude, then get Kadaj.

No one noticed the two Turks slip stealthily into Kadaj's room. They found him sleeping, lost in dreams of only he knew what. They stood over his bed, and Kadaj's eyes opened.

"What the…hey!" He said.

Reno cursed and Rude whacked Kadaj across the head with his baton-like weapon, rendering him unconscious.

"Hey, Rude, good work!" Reno whispered.

Rude just grunted slightly as he hoisted the teen over his shoulder. Reno threw a piece of paper to the ground and then the two left like nothing had ever happened.

Yazoo woke the next morning. He was always a morning person. He went to wake his brothers. Loz was the easiest so he woke him first, plus, Yazoo knew Loz liked to wake Kadaj as a payback for Kadaj's daily torment.

The two men entered their brother's room to find his bed empty. There was a slip of paper on the ground. Loz bent down to pick it up. He unfolded the note and read its contents. He walked over to Yazoo and pressed the note into his hand. Yazoo read the note too and let it fall from his hand.

_We have your brother; I'd like to see you try and get him back._

From those two simple sentences Yazoo knew where to find him, and knew that they would need some assistance. He pulled out his cell and dialled a number.

"Hello, Tohma…we have a little situation here…we need some help…yeah, that's right, they took Kadaj…thank-you…see you in ten. Bye."

Yazoo hung up the phone and Loz looked at him.

"I met an assassin named Tohma at 7th Heaven." Yazoo explained. "He works for Shinra. I figured we'd need an inside man."

"Hmm, good thinking Yazoo, but we'll need _her _too." Loz said determinedly.

Yazoo nodded.

Aliyra was sitting at the same barstool she had been sitting at since her 4:30 am discussion with Cloud, where she learned the horrible truth. An hour had passed and by that time Aliyra had a tequila bottle in hand. She hadn't had much of it; she just sat there with it in her hand as if that bottle was going to tell her how to fix all her problems.

The door opened, which was quite unusual for 5:30 in the morning. She had assumed Tifa had locked the door when she went to bed. She heard footsteps approach her, then:

"Aliyra." Someone said. It was a male's voice, still calm but somewhat out of breath. She turned her head to see three people, an outwardly calm Yazoo, with fear hidden in his eyes, a practically crying Loz, and a sadistically smiling, blonde-haired, teal-eyed man she realised she didn't recognise.

"What?" She asked sulkily.

"Kadaj is in trouble, we need your help!" Loz wailed.

"Why should I? I learned what he did a year ago. He wasn't exactly who I though he was."

"He needs us." Yazoo stated.

"Yeah, you maybe, but not me."

The blonde man walked behind the bar and made himself a White Russian. He walked out from behind the bar and sat next to Aliyra, swirling his drink slightly, and then placing it back on to the wooden surface of the bar.

"He's going to die if you don't help him. Doesn't that bother you?" He asked, still smiling his sadistic, yet somewhat innocent looking smile and still holding the White Russian.

"I died because of what he became in the first place!" Aliyra snapped.

"When he came here yesterday, he said something as he left, something meant only for you, but not for you to hear." Yazoo said, going to his last resort. Aliyra could hear the desperation in his voice. "I heard it." He continued.

"And what did he say?" She asked with a sudden curiosity.

"I love you." Yazoo said.

Aliyra looked at him stunned. "He really…?"

Yazoo nodded. "He needs you Aliyra. Please come with us."

Aliyra sat there for a minute. Making up her mind, she took one last drink from the tequila bottle and lightly slammed it back on to the bar.

"Gentlemen, let's roll." She said heroically.

She grabbed a napkin from the dispenser sitting on the bar, and a pen that was sitting beside it. She scribbled a small note to Cloud, placed it under her half empty tequila bottle and left with the three men.

Cloud got up and went downstairs. Tifa was already up and chatting with Zack.

"You sure know how to sleep." Zack said.

"Has anyone seen Aliyra?" Cloud asked. "I checked her room and she wasn't there."

"No, I haven't" Tifa replied and Zack shook his head.

"Did she say anything to you?" Cloud asked, picking up the tequila bottle. He noticed the small scrap of napkin Aliyra had left hours earlier.

"This is it." He said. "Aliyra left this."

"What does it say?" Tifa asked, slightly concerned, as was her nature.

Cloud read the note aloud so Tifa and Zack could hear the words she had written.

"Cloud, I'm going after him."

Tifa and Zack looked to each other, puzzled, and then they looked to Cloud.

"Shinra." He stated simply, attracting some weird stares from his two friends.

"She's gone after Shinra. He probably has something she wants…like Kadaj for example."

"So, what happens now?" Zack asked.

"I promised her I'd protect her, now its time to make good on that promise." Cloud replied, walking to the door of the bar, Zack following behind.

Kadaj regained consciousness to find he was in chains. He looked up and saw two people in front of him.

"Tch." He sounded in frustration.

"Look who's awake." Reno said mockingly to Rude. Rude made his familiar grunting sound.

"Why am I here?" Kadaj spat angrily.

"We'll let the boss answer that one." Reno replied lightly, turning to Rude.

Rude nodded and the pair left the room, presumably to go and get President Shinra and alert him to Kadaj's regaining of consciousness.

The door opened again shortly afterward and a girl with long blonde hair walked straight up to Kadaj. She knelt down in front of him and kissed him.

"There, I thanked you." She said.

It was Kadaj's turn to kiss the girl. "Now we're even again."

"I'm getting you out of here." She said.

"But Aliyra…Shinra…"

"Shinra, Shminra." She replied, kissing Kadaj again.

"How do you plan on getting us out of here?" he asked, a small glint of desperation flashing across his mako eyes for less than a second.

"I brought help. Did you honestly think I'd storm Shinra Electric Power Company by myself?"

They both laughed lightly at the quite lame joke. If you could even call it that.

"I love you." She whispered, pressing her body against his in a warm embrace.

Their heads both snapped up as the door opened again. In walked the blonde-haired, teal-eyed man that had accompanied Loz, Yazoo and herself on this little rescue mission.

"Tohma, can you help?" Aliyra asked.

He just smiled his response and walked over with nothing more than a simple hairpin. He picked the locks effortlessly.

"Thanks." Kadaj said, rubbing his wrists, his arms getting a tired sensation as he was finally able to lower them.

"It's no problem." Tohma said, still smiling as he helped Kadaj up from the ground.

"Who are you anyway?" Kadaj asked somewhat bewildered.

"Ask your brother." He said, leaving both Kadaj and Aliyra in a state of confusion. They didn't think it wise to hesitate any longer and left the room, meeting up with Yazoo and Loz after running blindly through a few corridors.

Yazoo hugged his younger brother. Kadaj just looked at him oddly.

"I lost you once…" Yazoo replied. "Do you have any idea what it was like to think I'd lost you again?"

"No, I guess not." Kadaj said.

The tender brotherly moment passed and they made their way through the corridors, Kadaj in the lead, pulling Aliyra behind him by her wrist. Yazoo, Loz and Tohma kept up easily enough.

"Where are we going Kadaj?" Aliyra asked.

"I have to settle something with Shinra." He replied, saying Shinra's name with such an amount of venom that Aliyra thought it best not to argue. Little did they realise they would be meeting Shinra soon enough anyway. In their haste, they had not realised they had tripped one of Shinra's many silent alarms.

Soon they found themselves circled by guards. They fought off as many as they could. Tohma killing with ease made Kadaj ask Yazoo "Is he an assassin or something?" Yazoo merely nodded.

"That explains a lot." He said.

Someone grabbed Aliyra from behind. She tried to struggle free, but to no avail.

_Oh sure pick on the girl_ she thought in annoyance.

The arm around her neck tightened and she felt cold steel against her it.

"Kadaj!" Aliyra choked.

Kadaj spun around to see President Shinra, the man he hated with such a passion, holding the girl he loved with such a passion, hostage.

"Stop, all of you." Shinra demanded. "Or I will be forced to terminate this young girl's life."

Everyone immediately stopped what they were doing.

"You harm her and I swear you're dead." Kadaj hissed.

"Tsk, tsk. If I were in your position remnant, I wouldn't be making such threats." Shinra replied dangerously, tightening his grip on Aliyra.

Kadaj looked at Aliyra, for once in his life not knowing what to do. He could see the fear clearly evident on her face as the blade left a small, shallow cut on her neck, not deep enough for any serious damage, but deep enough for a drop of her blood to roll down her neck.

"Well done Tohma." Shinra said. "Thank-you for brining me the experimental test subjects."

Kadaj swung his head to face Tohma. He was still smiling. Before Kadaj could say anything to their 'supposed' friend Tohma walked to stand more toward the head of the group.

He let out a small laugh. "What makes you think I still work for you Rufus?" he asked.

Shinra looked at his employee with shock on his face.

"The highest bidder wins. I would have though you, of all people, would have known that." Tohma said, his sadistic manner really shining through at this point in time, causing Tohma's smile to broaden

Shinra soon felt the cold metal of a buster sword against his own neck.

"Let her go or I will be, how did you put it, 'forced to terminate' your life." Cloud said menacingly.

"Cloud!" Aliyra whispered happily, as at this point in time she was unable to do much else.

Shinra, scared for his life, let Aliyra go free. She ran forward straight into Kadaj's arms. Cloud didn't really seem surprised to see such behaviour. He had suspected that something was going on between them. Kadaj hugged Aliyra tightly to his side and looked toward Tohma, who nodded in understanding.

"How shall we do this, let's make it your choice." Tohma said walking up to Shinra, still smiling that sadistic smile. "Painful, or excruciating?"

The blonde-haired assassin cocked his head to the side in thought. "Wait, I've changed my mind." He pushed Shinra to the ground and straddled him, sitting on his stomach. "I think it'll be my choice, and I choose excruciating." His whole voice shook with anticipation of the kill.

He pulled out two daggers, which gleamed maliciously in the artificial light. He turned one over in his hand before seemingly making up his mind and slamming it hard into Shinra's right shoulder. Tohma felt the president's body tense as the pain shot through his body. "Did that hurt you?" He asked in a sarcastic tone. Shinra gave no response. "What? Not going to talk to me?" Tohma eyed his other dagger for a second, before stabbing it through Shinra's left shoulder. Shinra let out a gasp of pain this time.

"Oh Shinra, you always were the strong silent type." Tohma said almost seductively.

Shinra grimaced at the cold look in the assassin's eye. That look told Shinra that there was no getting out of this.

"Now that you can't move…" Tohma continued, looking to Kadaj "any last words?" he directed to Kadaj.

"Burn in hell, Shinra." was his reply.

Tohma's smile broadened once again. "Couldn't have said it better myself." He mused pulling a gun from the back of his pants and placing it against Shinra's chest, directly above his heart.

"Goodbye Rufus." Tohma said simply before pulling the trigger and loosing five or more rounds into the president's chest.

Tohma stepped away from the body of Rufus Shinra, now soaking in a puddle of its own blood, and walked back over to where Cloud was now fussing over Aliyra, who was still held tightly in Kadaj's arms. "Are you sure you're ok?" He asked for the millionth time and "yes Cloud, I'm perfectly fine." She replied, also for the millionth time. Aliyra, seeing Tohma, smiled at him with a smile much similar to his own. "Thank-you" She said. Cloud nodded once to show his appreciation. Zack ruffled the girl's blonde hair, making her look up at him. "You did good, kid." He said.

The group headed back to 7th heaven where an anxious Tifa awaited their return. She smiled with relief as they walked through the door. It's almost needless to write that for several hours afterward drinking ensued.

Night had now fallen, leaving only a few people in the bar. "Well, I guess my work here is done." Zack said. "Aerith will be expecting me back." Cloud nodded, knowing what was coming next and Aliyra watched with tears in her eyes, also knowing what was coming next. As they had correctly assumed, Zack disappeared into those familiar green particles, returning to the Lifestream.

Aliyra watched in horror as the same thing began to happen to Kadaj. "I've settled my scores." He said. "Now I guess I have to go back." Aliyra stared numbly at the spot where Kadaj had just been standing. She wondered if she too would disintegrate into those green particles. She soon realised she wouldn't because all she had wanted was to be back with Cloud. She turned to look at her brother. Cloud understood clearly. "Go to him." He said. "It's not like we won't meet again in the Lifestream. He didn't want to lose Aliyra just as much as Aliyra didn't want to leave but Cloud knew that she would be happier that way. Aliyra smiled and exhaled deeply allowing herself to become as the others were- floating green particles on their way back to the Lifestream.

Aliyra was once more blinded by the white light upon her arrival at the Lifestream. She sighed knowing that she was back and she also smiled because Kadaj was here and so was Zack. She stood up and began her search for Kadaj. She had found him sitting by the looking pool that she had spent almost an entire year in front of. He looked up as she approached. He stood, not believing what he was seeing.

Aliyra paused as he stood. She smiled broadly and then ran to him. "I didn't think I was going to see you for a long time yet." Kadaj said, placing a kiss on her forehead. Aliyra looked at him with a smirk. "You're not getting away from me that easily." She said. The pair of them laughed as they sat to watch everyone in 7th Heaven.

It had hurt Cloud to watch both Zack and Aliyra return to the Lifestream but he had somehow had the feeling that this was going to happen all along. He looked up to the roof of the bar as though he almost expected to be able to see them. When he had said his farewell to Aliyra and told her that they would be seeing each other again, he hadn't expected that there was a possibility of meeting her so soon. What everyone in the bar at that time had failed to mention is that a certain blonde haired assassin had slipped away and was now preparing to blow the bar to the Lifestream. He had, after all been working for Shinra all along.

Aliyra and Kadaj sat watching the people in the pool. Aliyra suddenly moved forward so she was inches away from the water. "Cloud!" Aliyra screamed. "That bastard." Her voice now turning to a whisper. "Aliyra, what's wrong?" Kadaj asked, also moving closer to the water. He didn't need to wait for Aliyra's response to see what was about to happen. "We should never have trusted him…" Kadaj said, awestruck.

The two of them watched in horror as the bar exploded. Aliyra knew that with an explosion of that magnitude no one could have survived. Aliyra stood up quickly and ran to where she had come from just minutes earlier and sure enough several more figures were appearing.

What the…?" Cloud said, surveying the scenery. His eyes stopped on Aliyra and all his questions as to his whereabouts were answered. Aliyra ran to Cloud and hugged him. "How did we get here?" Tifa asked in confusion.

"You don't know?" Aliyra said shocked. _Well, at least it was quick enough for them not to know what hit them. _She thought. "Tohma exploded the bar." She said. Cloud didn't look to happy about it, Aliyra noted. The look of utter shock disappeared from his face to be replaced by a wide smile. "At least we're together now." At Cloud's words Aliyra realised that perhaps the blonde assassin's motives were pure and he just wanted to bring them all together again.

Aliyra led them all to the viewing pool. The surface once more rippled and there was a lone figure standing in a clearing in the woods. The blonde assassin waved at the thin air, but the group had known that that wave had been for them.

**A/N: This story has been a long time in the making and i'm just sooooo glad that it's finally finished xD. I got inspired...believe it or not...by watching Zack die TT so tragic. ANNYWAY enjoy**


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